Cape Horn, Chile, Patagonia, 12/9/2022, National Geographic Resolution
Aboard the
National Geographic Resolution
Patagonia
Today we landed on the southernmost point of South America, Cape Horn. Our transit was smooth as we lived the high life on board the finest expedition ship in the world, National Geographic Resolution.
Jeff Litton is a dedicated advocate for our planet, igniting a passion within people to cherish our Earth. His circuitous journey involves leading individuals into the untamed wilderness, where he unveils the hidden splendor of the natural world. Jef...
Arriving at Bernal Glacier early morning, guests and staff completed a most scenic walk to observe its snout and the terminal moraine that extend towards the waters in which National Geographic Resolution was positioned. The glacier is located within the Campos de Hielo which is part of a larger ice- covered area in Magellan Patagonia. Access to the glacier snout is made possible using a path that allows visitors to walk through low vegetation and onto the terminal moraine that consists of a wide assortment of boulders, gravels, and sand that were deposited when the glacier no longer could carry their load. At this point on the walk, unobstructed views of the glacier gave us an opportunity to witness its ever-diminishing size, both in length and width, when compared with our photographs taken over the last few years. Still, its beauty remains, and the enormity of glacial power and erosional forces firmly impresses all those who enjoyed the landing this morning. Following lunch, National Geographic Resolution navigated the Kirke Narrows. Always an exciting part of a Patagonia voyage, the bridge team took us through the narrows at slack tide and perfectly timed the navigation through the narrowest part of the canal which is 426 feet. Once through the narrows, we continued to Puerto Natales in anticipation of disembarkation tomorrow. This ten-day trip of Patagonia and Staten Island has been remarkable during which majestic landscapes and a wide range of wildlife was observed.
We had an amazing morning at Puerto Profundo. The weather kept us on our toes because we had all four seasons in any given moment. Two rounds of Zodiac cruises gave the weather ample time to confuse us and delight us. We had sleet, hail, snow, rain, sunshine, and beautiful lighting. The Zodiac rides were a wonderful delight around a maze of islands and channels with so much to see. Lush vegetation was everywhere. Blooming chilco fuchsia, Chapico taique, and Copihue attracted the stunning hummingbird, the green-backed firecrown. Some of us even got to witness a hummingbird for the first time ever! The firecrown was even fooled by the stunning red of Andreas Alexander’s float-coat and buzzed up to us multiple times to check him out! The islands also provided us with amazing looks at the quirky thorn-tailed rayadito and a ringed kingfisher perched in plain view for all of us to see. It was quite the birdy morning! In addition, we also had looks at an American mink as well as some Chilean dolphins and Peale’s dolphins. Puerto Profundo did not disappoint! In the afternoon, we made land fall at a tiny but stunning beach at Bahia Isthmus. It was a small rocky beach with a thick forest of beech trees. A crested caracara perched patiently at the top of a tree for all of us to see. Many came ashore to walk across to the other bay, which was quite a squishy, fun bog walk. The photographers had a fun time exploring the island capturing beautiful scenes of flowers, birds, landscapes, and happy faces. A good time was had by all!
Today we awoke on National Geographic Resolution just outside of Jackson Bay in Karukinka National Park. Our guests went to shore in the shallow bay to get close looks at Southern elephant seals laying around. Other guests enjoyed a nice walk to a beautiful waterfall. In the afternoon, we repositioned to Ainsworth Bay for a variety of lovely walks.
